Sunday, December 28, 2014

The Racial Divide, A Tale of Two City's Black and White 999

A Tale of Two Cities: The de Blasio Poll Show and Increasing Racial Divide

It’s official: New Yorkers are growing sick of Bill de Blasio (NYP) New Yorkers flunked Mayor de Blasio in a devastating poll ­released Wednesday — giving him his lowest approval rating yet amid revelations in The Post about a growing grade-fixing scandal in city schools. The QuinnipiacUniversity poll — conducted from last Thursday through Tuesday — found that only 38 percent of voters approved of his handling of the schools. That’s down 11 points from this time last year and three points from a poll in May. The numbers also showed that more people believed de Blasio did not deserve re-election than those who said he did, by 47-41 percent. The wide racial divide that has plagued de Blasio’s tenure as mayor — and that he promised to heal during his campaign — persisted. Black voters by 58-33 percent said he deserves re-election, while white voters said by 61-24 percent that he doesn’t. The poll also found that voters are roughly split on the way de Blasio handles racial relations between blacks and whites, with 47 percent favorable and 44 percent unfavorable.

NYP's End of de Blasio's Term Countdown Clock

They disapproved of his handling of the latest city budget by 38-43 percent, and the city’s rising homeless population by 36-53 percent. Carroll also said it’s obvious that de Blasio had failed to bridge the divide between rich and poor New Yorkers and the racial divide between blacks and whites. “The mayor has yet to close the book on the ‘tale of two cities’ written on Election Day 2013. Black voters still approve of de Blasio by a lot; white voters don’t,” Carroll said. Howard Wolfson, a former deputy mayor in the Bloomberg ­administration, agreed. Following the release of the poll, Wolfson tweeted, “Amazing. Guy who ran on ending ‘two cities’ has a bigger gap btwn white and AA [African-American] approval (32 points in new Q poll) than Bloomberg ever did.” * Quality of life in NYC is at its worst in years: New Yorkers (NYP) * The NY Post has launched a countdown clock to keep track of how much time remains in de Blasio’s “disastrous” first term.

Who Polarized NYC?

How Did NYC Transform Itself Into A Volcanic, Racial-Battlegroud?

NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio Has Lost Control Of The Big AppleThe NYC police don’t listen to Mayor Bill De Blasio anymore; they hate him and have turned their backs on him. The anti-cop, protesters have no respect for him either. Even when the embattled mayor asked activists to halt protests out of respect for 2 murdered cops they took to the streets in defiance hours later. “The mayor says stop that…we say f**k that! the angry mob chanted at one point. “NYPD, KKK, how many kids have you killed today?” they shouted as they marched down 5th Avenue. The Big Apple has reached a boiling point and it’s about to lava over.* De Blasio's first year risks overshadowing by cop struggles(NYDN)

A City Government of Strangelove: We New Yorkers Let de Blasio Destroy Their City?

More than half of New York City residents support Mayor Bill de Blasio but still feel the city is on the wrong track, according to a poll released this morning. The same percentage—52—that approves of de Blasio's job performance also said the city is on the "wrong track," compared to 41 percent who believe the city is headed in the "right direction." As has been the case in other recent polls, de Blasio's margin of support—52 percent for, 32 percent against and 15 percent undecided—was deeply divided along racial lines. Seven in 10 black voters approve of his job performance, compared to 60 percent of Hispanics surveyed and only 32 percent of whites.His disapproval rating among blacks is just 19 percent, compared to 49 percent of whites and 25 percent of Hispanics.* The same poll foundmore than half of residents – blacks and whites alike – say the city is headed in the wrong direction.

The Real Tale of Two Cities has to do with leadership of New York. In a weekend of almost undivided adulation for the passing of Mario Cuomo for his communication and leadership skills we face a divided city with its current office holders unable to lead, because they have lost trust and have very poor speaking skills.

Cuomo was the “true leader” of the liberal opposition in the Reagan era, but he show us a better way with vision, a spellbinding orator, never dividing New Yorkers against each others. Mario lead always with dignity and inclusiveness, championed tolerance, opportunity while fighting for a more equitable New York for of opportunity. Opportunity he always reminded us that his parents were given to raise him and allow him to become governor of the empire state. Cuomo never hid behind flacks and press release. He was a politician from a generation who welcomed and directly addressed controversial issues. When Sharpton said he might run against him, Cuomo said, "I Should Be So Lucky."

Cuomo Was the Poet Laureate of Liberalism, Keeper of his Party's Conscience Who Delivered One Hell of a Speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Cuomo never used his office to divided, he showed us a better way, winning deep respect and affection. We miss more than Mario Cuomo this weekend, New Yorkers miss his leadership and the Way He Touched NY's Soul

The Race Divide Is Not Longer Explained by or Defined by the Race Divided

Bill de Blasio’ssteep learning curve (NYDN) The politics that made him mayor now appear to stand in the way of him governing the city. A s he grapples with the task of uniting a divided city, a key question facing Mayor de Blasio is not whether he can broaden his coalition but whether he even wants to.De Blasio lashed out at the press for reporting the bad news. “We know a different reality,” he said loftily, chastising reporters for having the temerity to note that some political protesters have said and done vile, disturbing things — with a handful even calling for violence against police officers. The politics that brought de Blasio to GracieMansion now appear to stand in the way of him governing the city. During the tumultuous 2013 Democratic primary, de Blasio’s key to victory was to be the most progressive politician with a reasonable shot at winning. To Team de Blasio, the lesson of the campaign is that victory depends on keeping a tight-knit team of true believers, disregarding opinion polls and ignoring a political press corps that failed to recognize and report the compelling and savvy nature of the progressive message. That style might be enough to squeak out a reelection victory in 2017, but it’s not the best way to govern a city with New York’s great diversity of ideologies and lifestyles. The band of City Hall insiders needs to be greatly broadened, with more representation from the mostly white, working-class communities in the Rockaways, Staten Island, Bayside and other enclaves that feel neglected, ignored and shut out.* CharlesGasparino:DeBlasio's worst enablers: New York City'sbusiness elite (NYP)

Picture This Mayor Diversity

The Real Diversity are the Men Who Have Occupied City Hall and the Way They Have Built A City That Aloud Wave After Wave of the Immigrants and Poor to Join the Middle Class, Not the Historical Pictures That Hang On Its Walls

David Dinkins, Afro-American (1990-1993); Ed Koch, Jewish (1978-1989); Jimmy Walker, Irish (1926-1932); Fiorello H. La Guardia, Italian (1934-1945); John Lindsay, Protestant (1966-1973); Robert Wagner, Catholic (1954-1965); Seth Low, Episcopalian (1902-1904) . . . Note while no Latino has been mayor, the man who came the closest was Herman Badillo, whose funeral the mayor did not attend last week. De Blasio wants to revamp the art collection at City Hall(NYP)

Move over, George Washington! Mayor de Blasio wants to revamp the art collection at City Hall to spice up the mostly vanilla collection of portraits of historically prominent white men. “The Mayor and First Lady believe the art at City Hall should reflect the vibrant diversity of New York City, and discussions on how to update the building’s collection to celebrate that diversity are underway,” Mayoral spokeswoman Marti Adams said Friday. Should A Mayor Elected With Less Then 15% Of New Yorkers Votes Control History

Were is the Outrage?Sunday UpdateFormer city design head blasts mayor’s plan to remove portraits(NYP) Mayor de Blasio’s off-the-wall plan to take down the City Hall portraits of white historical figures is not only dumb, it’s also “condescending’’ to minorities, a former city official said Saturday. “The premise is stupid,’’ said Michele Bogart, an ex-vice president of the Public Design Commission, which overseas the portrait collection. “You take down the dead white men because they represent something you don’t like in history instead of the portraits being a point of conversation. Use it as a teaching tool.’’ De Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, want to banish the portraits of former mayors, presidents and military heroes — some by famous artists — to make way for art that “celebrates’’ the city’s “diversity.’’“I don’t think it’s appropriate for the mayor to be bashing the previous mayor through the portrait collection,’’ Bogart said. Modal Trigger Michele Bogart is now a professor at StonyBrookUniversity. “It’s not a political football. It was not conserved to make a political statement.” She noted, “Black historians agree with me,’’ adding, “It’s fine to add diversity, maybe commission new pieces, but don’t remove what’s already there. “The way they want them removed it assumes that blacks and Hispanics somehow can’t handle learning about people from the past. It’s dumbing down history and it’s condescending.